The Minnesota Department of Health has launched a financingprogram which will provide $6.3 million in no-interest EHR loans tohospitals, nursing homes, clinics and other healthcare providers in thestate’s rural and underserved communities as part of the state’se-Health initiative to facilitate the purchase and implementation ofinteroperable EHRs.

Healthcare informatics and services provider McKesson spotlighted itsnew Horizon Managed Services offering as well as extensions to itsHorizon clinical suite at the 2008 HIMSS conference in Orlando, Fla.

Healthcare applications developer Compressus revealed severalMEDxConnect product line expansions including the introduction of StudyRouting Management technology, which permits diagnostic imagingclinicians to review and diagnose any study from any workstation on anenterprise network, at the 2008 HIMMS conference in Orlando, Fla.

SquareLoop, a provider of wireless location-based services, hasintroduced a text messaging system to enable secure transmission ofdata over public wireless networks, giving the healthcare industry aunique data communications solution for its mobile workforce.

Healthcare device and systems provider GE Healthcare featured anextensive portfolio of products and systems at the 2008 HIMSSconference in Orlando, Fla.

Siemens Medical Solutions and Siemens Communications unveiled a varietyof clinical information system products at this year’s HIMSS conferencein Orlando, Fla.

Perimeter eSecurity, a digital security product developer, has launchedits electronic Protected Health Information offering.

Many healthcare executives feel that IT plays an integral role inimproving patient care, however concerns over cost and reliabilityaffect upgrading and maintaining the IT infrastructure necessary tosupport multiple applications, according to results from the Vital STATs 2008 Survey from CDW Healthcare, released during the 2008 HIMSS conference in Orlando, Fla.